Montessori in the Home and Connections to Parent Education

St. Catherine University St. Catherine University

SOPHIA SOPHIA

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers Education

12-2014

Montessori in the Home and Connections to Parent Education Montessori in the Home and Connections to Parent Education

Barbara Bisceglia St. Catherine University

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Bisceglia, Barbara. (2014). Montessori in the Home and Connections to Parent Education. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/maed/90

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Running head: MONTESSORI IN THE HOME

Montessori in the Home and Connections to Parent

Education

An Action Research Report

By Barbara Bisceglia

MONTESSORI IN THE HOME

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Montessori in the Home and Connections to Parent Education

An Action Research Report

By Barbara Bisceglia

Submitted on December 15, 2014

In fulfillment of final requirements for the MAED degree

St. Catherine University

St. Paul, Minnesota

Advisor: Date:


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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to make more connections from the school to home

environment and allow for more parent education opportunities. There were six families

included in the study. Home visits were conducted prior to school starting to gain a better

understanding about the child’s current home environment. Each week small workbags

containing suggestions and pictures on how to organize the home environment, sample

fine motor activities from the classroom environment, articles about child development or

Montessori, and resources were sent home to families. The families kept these bags for a

week and then returned them with a feedback form. Data collection was gathered through

pre/post surveys with feedback forms, and observations of morning drop off with parent

and child. The findings of this study support prior research in that parents actively

engaged with their child’s educational journey will help to support their child in more

meaningful ways in the home environment. Through analyzing and summarizing my

findings this study provides parents and teachers with more resources on how to

successfully implement a variety of parent education tools throughout the beginning of

the school year.


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A toddler teacher in a Montessori classroom is responsible for supporting the

overall growth and development of the children in her class. They observe the children’s

behavioral patterns, motor development, speech and language development, social

development, work habits, and cognitive abilities. Through observation they are able to

guide the children’s learning to meet their needs and support their interests. Research by

Galindo and Sheldon (2012) examines the relationship between parent involvements in

education as they observe academic and social emotional development. The authors

concluded home and school are the most important settings for learning and found that

family involvement at school and parents’ educational expectations were associated with

gains in early childhood academics. According to Galindo and Sheldon (2012), when

children are being supported in their home environment the common themes from school

are translated to the home setting with more ease. Consistency in both environments is

extremely important for our youngest learners and this is achieved when parents and

teachers develop a healthy relationship to support the child. This action research focuses

on the importance of creating a child-friendly home environment that encourages

independence, self-confidence and self-esteem. The goal was to make connections from

the school to home environment to help parents gain a better understanding about the

Montessori philosophy and create more consistency for learning.

My action research was completed this fall in my toddler Montessori classroom.

My class has six children ages 18 months- 24 months who attend school full time. Each

child has two parents who all agreed to participate in the action research project. The

Montessori philosophy supports overall child development and the natural desire to learn

and explore through the materials found in prepared environments. The classroom is


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designed to encourage independence and teachers are trained to guide this development

appropriately. When a child is given the opportunity to learn in an environment that

supports their needs, learning and obtaining new concepts becomes organic and

enjoyable. Our school currently offers parents a variety of parent education opportunities

throughout the school year. However, due to demanding work schedules, parents are not

always available to participate in their child’s educational journey. Based on research

and personal observations, my hope was to design a parent education program that allows

parents to learn about the Montessori philosophy and their child’s progress through

designing activities for their home environment. Research by Stephanie Woo states

“Every time a child masters something, that mastery leads to new possibilities. This way

of parenting requires much more thought than parenting in which you do everything for

your child, but its rewards are also much greater.” (Woo, p 54). In addition to sending

home activities I also sent ideas home on how to organize and set up the home setting to

help increase their child’s overall independence. “In the pursuit of independence, a

child’s home and school and environment can be each other’s greatest asset…Very young

children are capable of independent work at home, though they must be provided enough

time and space to ‘do it myself’ (Jensen, p 56).

While planning for my action research project my goal was to give parents a

variety of ways to experience parent education that was separate from presentations at

school that are typically under attended. However, I was also careful to not add more

stress to their already busy schedules by making families participate. Research by Alfie

Kohn shows that making homework necessary does not always equate to positive

outcomes. In an article by Alfie Kohn (2007), he writes,


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The negative effects of homework are well known. They include

children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities, and

possible loss of interest in learning. Many parents lament the impact of

homework on their relationship with their children; they may also resent having to

play the role of enforcer and worry that they will be criticized either for not being

involved enough with the homework or for becoming too involved. (p. 1)

I was careful to explain to parents that the purpose of this study was to help create more

natural learning opportunities through creating a space that reinforces the holistic

development of their child. By bridging Montessori concepts into their own homes, the

learn how to best support their child.

I was inspired to complete this action research due to the literature and research

that supports the importance of parent education and parental involvement in a child’s

educational journey. Research by Lillard and Jessen (2003) reviewed how placing the

Montessori philosophy in the home setting would help each child with self-discovery and

formation. The literature indicates that parents are not always aware of all the

opportunities available in the home setting that can support a child’s independence. The

research also supports the idea of asking children to complete tasks at home to provide

meaningful experiences for them in their toddler years. “ By making the child’s life

meaningful to him as a member of his family in this challenging period, we have helped

him to integrate his personality and develop a positive attitude toward himself” (Lillard &

Jesson, 2003). It is helpful for parents to have an overall understanding how the works in

Montessori help to strengthen concentration which leads to more advanced works. “It is

this positive effect on the child’s concentration and personality, and therefore ultimately


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on his ability to learn, that most impressed Montessori and led her to make exercises that

involve cycles of activity the foundation of her approach to the child’s later education”.

Lillard, & Jesson, p. 93). Based on this research, I feel the implementation of my action

research project was designed to support family needs while also providing them with

more tools to support their child’s development and needs.

Description of Research Process

I completed my research in my toddler classroom at a Montessori school that

serves children 18 months- Grade 12. This school year I have six children in my class

ages 18 months- 24 months. The state regulated teacher to student ratio for this age

group is 1:3 and I have an intern who teaches alongside of me. This is the first time these

children are in a Montessori setting. The children enrolled in my class this year are all

full day students and will attend school five days a week.

My data was generated by multiple sources. To begin my action research, I sent

the notification letter (Appendix A) to parents prior to school starting and all parents

agreed to be part of the study. After receiving approval from the parents, I planned my

home visits during the week before school began. These visits lasted about 30-45 minutes

and at this time I spent time with the child and talked with the parents about the start of

the school year. I brought one of the classroom materials with me on the home visit. I

also used this time to get a sense of current living situations and expectations. I took note

of how toys were organized, and opportunities for independence in each room (Appendix

B). Also, at this time parents were also given a family questionnaire to fill out (Appendix

C). The questions on this form were all short answers. The questionnaire helped me

gather information about the family’s current living situations, family dynamics and


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expectations. This was the data collected prior to the first day of school starting.

The first week of school I sent home a pre survey about current Montessori

(Appendix D). This survey contained short answer questions and helped me gather a

baseline about the parent’s current knowledge. The following week the first workbag

was sent home (Appendix E). The bag included a folder, tray, small work rug and hook.

Inside the folder included an article, directions on what to do with the materials, and a

feedback form. (Appendix F). Each bag moving forward included a work the child was

working on in class (food prep, fine motor etc.). Resources were sent home each week to

help create more consistency from the school to home environments. These resources

included PowerPoint, highlighting each room of the home with ideas to promote

independence. Other resources included, Montessori material catalogs, articles, and

pictures of their child working at school. Bags were sent home every Wednesday and

were supposed to be returned the following Tuesday with feedback forms filled out. The

feedback forms allowed me to gain information about what the parents implemented in

their homes, what they had questions about, and what they enjoyed learning about. Other

data sources included notes at drop off time in the morning. This is one of the only times

I have face time with my parents at school and can often gauge their confidence in the

classroom and level of trust. Parents carrying their child in from the car, taking their coats

off and taking care of their personal belongings indicates to the teacher that the parent is

not allowing the child the opportunity for independence. Data I collected at this time

allowed me to track how many steps of the morning routine were being done

independently and how many questions the parents asked in the morning (Appendix

G). The final method of data collected was the post survey. The post surveys were sent


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electronically and allowed me to measure how much the parents learned throughout this

study based off of their pre survey answers. Originally I had planned to do a second home

visit to see if changes were implemented in the home environments, but felt the post

survey would adequately cover the information I would collect from a second home visit.

Analysis of Data

After analyzing my data, I have come to find many positive correlations between

making connections from the school to home environment. Overall, parents were excited

to be part of my study and to learn ways that allow their child to participate more fully in

daily family life and celebrations. This enthusiasm helped create positive outcomes.

I started my research by conducting home visits with each of my families. The

data collected from the home visits confirmed there was room for improvement to

increase independence and overall knowledge about the Montessori philosophy. During

the home visits I interacted with the child, observed interactions between parent and child

and took notes on environment. During the visits I also gave the parents a pre survey for

them to fill out. Question one on the pre survey indicated that 83% of parents chose

Montessori based on their child’s curious nature and felt the philosophy would support

this in a positive way. Question two indicated 100% of parents were willing to learn more

about how Montessori helps to foster concentration, coordination, order and

independence. Based on the answers of Question three, parents did not think Montessori

classrooms were unstructured due to the orderly environment. Lastly, question four

revealed that 83% of the parents had read any Montessori books but were willing to learn

more through additional resources. (See Figure 1)


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Figure 1: Pre survey results from Parents

When the school year started, toddler teachers were faced with the ultimate

challenge: separation! Separation anxiety can be increased when there is lack of trust

between the parent and school environment. This is often displayed at drop off, when the

parents have to say goodbye to their child. Each day I took notes on questions asked by

the parents, length of time the parents stayed, and how many steps the parent does for the

child. Based on the data, parents spent an average of 5.5 minutes in the classroom in the

morning and asked less questions as the weeks progressed. They displayed an

understanding and respect for the fact that they needed to make it a quick goodbye in the

morning. The data also shows that opportunities for independence were not recognized

throughout the morning routine based on the fact that parents continually aided in taking

care of their child’s belongings. I took data on the following steps of a typical morning

routine for a toddler. The five steps included 1) Walk in independently 2) Take backpack

off of back 3) Take lunchbox out of back pack 4) Hang up backpack 5) Say goodbye

Originally I had “take off coat” as part of the drop off routine, however the warm weather


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in Maryland at this time of year made this step non-applicable. On average, parents

completed 80% of the steps for the child. 16% of children walked in independently each

day (others were carried in by parent) and 0% independently took off backpack (many

times the parents were carrying it), took out lunchbox, or hung up backpack. The one

successful step was “saying goodbye”. (See Figure 2) The data does not consider the

amount of time each parent has as parents are often dropping off and then heading to

work. Also, the data does not determine if parents are doing this to help their child settle

into class faster. The works and resources sent home were meant to educate parents on

the importance of toddlers working on self-care skills and having them be part of the

process vs. having this process be done to them. Although children were not

independently participating in the tasks with drop off, as the weeks progressed the

morning drop off was positive and did not interfere with children working in the class.

Figure 2: Drop Off Data Results

Starting the second week of school, I began to send homework bags which

contained resources for the parents and examples of Montessori works. A part of these


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bags included the Parent Feedback form. The parent feedback form was a useful form of

data that allowed me measure how the works and resources sent home each week were

used. Overall, there were no questions about how to use the works on the feedback forms,

however there were follow up questions that indicated curiosity about extensions of

works and how to help end the work cycle (cleaning up, how long to keep them on the

current work, etc.). The average time on works each time the child engaged with the work

was between 15-25 minutes and increased as the weeks went on. The data supports that

parents understood that the goals of the works were to increase coordination,

concentration and self help skills.

Figure 3: Parent Feedback Forms Weekly Outcomes

One challenge that came with the workbags being sent home was inconsistency of

bags being returned on time. On average, 33% of parents returned the bags on time with

the parent feedback forms. The families who returned the bags on time were families

with first time only children. Other families needed reminders to send bags back to


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school and a common theme as to why they were not being returned was due to the fact

that they were still using the materials/ resources in each of the bags.

Based on the feedback from the post survey, parents feel they have learned more

about the Montessori works in the classroom through the work bags been sent home. 60%

of parents still wanted to learn more about the philosophy. 80% of parents wanted more

information & resources about how to handle child’s behaviors at home (specifically

bedtime routines, tantrums, transitions.), 80% of parents enjoyed the resources on how to

organize the home environment. This included utilizing a command hook that was sent

home to hang backpack on, and a PowerPoint with ideas and pictures for each room of

the house. Overall, 100% parents had more trust in their child’s school experience and

felt connected to their child’s school experience and wanted to learn more. (See Figure

4) Due to the short nature of the action research, I would conclude that this project

helped form a strong foundation for parents to continue their Montessori journey as a

parent.

Figure 4: Pre and Post Survey Results of Parents


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The goal of a Montessori teacher is to observe and individualize education for each of the

children in their classrooms based on their learning styles and needs. By individualizing

parent education opportunities for parents helps them to create a more efficient system of

learning and more success for the child in the home environment. Giving parents tools to

prepare the environment at home and observe their child based on these changes parents

were able to learn more about the Montessori philosophy.

Action Plan

This action research helped me to learn about parent- school relationships in our

school setting. Parent education is crucial for Montessori schools for retention and

student success. However, parents in our school community do not always have the extra

time to dedicate to parent education events. As Montessori educators, I feel it is our job to

not only educate the children in our class, but also the parents and general population

about the importance of this philosophy. When completing this action research project

my goal was to offer different parent education opportunities. Similar to toddlers being in

their sensitive period for language and movement, toddler parents are in their sensitive

period for parenting. They are often hungry for information regarding their child and

wanting to learn what is best for them. I feel this action research project helped to

connect the school and home environments and opened opportunities for deeper and more

meaningful discussions about child development and overall philosophy.

Moving forward, the results of this action research will change my practice in a variety

of ways. It has allowed me to gain more information about parent needs and expectations.

I have learned that parents and teachers have one common theme as their priority: the


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child. Creating a trusting relationship invites many avenues for learning and bonding.

Home visits at the beginning of each school year inform the teacher’s knowledge about

each child’s individual needs. It is designed to help support family transition into the

school community. This was a valuable time to meet the child in a comforting

environment and ask questions. This helped to establish trust and informed me of

important aspects of the child's life. Establishing this trust prior to school starting and

gaining information about the home environment helps the teacher guide the child

throughout their educational journey.

Overall, this action research was time consuming. Carving out time in the beginning of

the school year to perform home visits and organize bags with resources took a

considerable amount of planning and energy. However, the overall benefits of the action

research outweighed the initial commitment. Parents were excited and engaged to learn

more throughout the start of school. As a result of this study, I felt it allowed more

opportunity for parents to build trust with their teacher, which in turn helped to support

the children in the school setting. I found myself engaging in more meaningful

conversations about overall philosophy and child development. Having this trust with

parents is extremely valuable for the children in the class because it allows for the parent

and teachers to work as a team and support the child in different environments. The

results of the research will change my practice by giving me more opportunities to

connect with parents prior to each school year. I plan to continue to conduct home visits

prior to a child starting school and have parents fill out family questionnaires. This

information helped me support the child on the first day of school and the remainder of

the school year.


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I believe this research has significant possible impacts on student learning. When a

toddler is experiencing similar expectations in the school and home environment they

will be able to master tasks at a faster rate because there are consistent expectations. If a

parent has not been given resources to learn about Montessori, they will not know how to

properly support the philosophy in the home environment. Also, by giving parents a

variety of resources (works, PowerPoint with pictures, articles, catalogs, pictures of their

child at school) there is an increased chance that they will learn more from repeated

exposure.

The findings of this action research project have confirmed that there are

potential future action research investigations. These supplemental investigations include

how to connect this study to parent education opportunities at school/ presentations. I

would also be curious to learn if connecting this study to our admissions process would

help retention rates. For example, if parents were expected to dedicate a certain amount

of hours to parent education throughout the year as part of their contract, would they be

more likely to stay with Montessori for a longer time? Would this create a healthier

school community allowing for more parent and family events? I would also be interested

to use the findings of this study to investigate if starting a parent/ infant class at a school

helps parents of infants enroll their child in the school’s toddler Montessori program.

Does starting parent education younger help parents form a stronger foundation for their

overall Montessori knowledge?

Moving forward, teachers will benefit from using this action research by

committing to working with parents and families in the home setting. Completing home

visits helps the child gain trust in their teacher and allows parents the time observe


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interactions between their child and teacher. Establishing trust allows opportunities for

teachers to educate parents about the Montessori philosophy in a non- threatening

manner. Parents will learn more about the philosophy when it is directly connected to

their child’s abilities. They will enjoy being able to celebrate their child’s successes from

school and this has the potential to help the child build his self- confidence and esteem.

Bridging school to the home environment helps build community in your school setting

and opens the door to more parent engagement and school participation. Parents and

teachers have similar goals: to support and nurture each child’s abilities and strengths. It

is the child who benefits from the harmonious teamwork between the parent and teacher,

and it is society who benefits from successful, confident future leaders.


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References

Galindo, C., & Sheldon, S. B. (2012). School and Home Connections and Children's

Kindergarten Achievement Gains: The Mediating Role of Family Involvement. Early

Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(1), 90-103.

Jensen, S. (2013). Bringing montessori home. Montessori Life, 25(3), 56

Kohn, Alfie (2007) Rethinking homework. Retreived from

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/rethinkinghomework.htm

Lillard, P& Lynn L (2003) Montessori from the start: The child at home, from birth to

age three. New York: Schocken Books

Powell, D. R., Son, S., File, N., & San Juan, R. R. (2010). Parent-school relationships and

children's academic and social outcomes in public school pre-kindergarten. Journal Of

School Psychology, 48(4), 269-292.

Woo, S. (2014). Creating an amazing montessori toddler home environment. Montessori

Life, 26(2), 54-59.


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Appendix A

Dear Parents, As you may know, I am pursuing a Master of Arts in Education at St. Catherine University. As

part of my graduate work, I am going to do an Action Research project. Description of Study As the teacher of your child in the toddler division at the Barrie School, I have chosen to learn

about parent education through connecting toddler Montessori works to the home environment.

This action research will allow you and your child to participate in Montessori based works

together in the home setting, which will hopefully allow you the opportunity to learn more about

the philosophy and curriculum which may be rewarding for your child and yourself. As part of the study, I will be performing home visits to gather information about your family and

child needs. I will schedule a time for this with you in the first weeks of school if you are

interested. Throughout the first weeks of school, I will also be sending home practical life works

that will include fine motor practice, food preparation and self-care activities. In addition to the

works being sent home, I will be sending home ideas on how to prepare your home environment

to help support your child’s independence and learning. You will be asked to complete pre-and

post- questionnaires about the Montessori philosophy and feedback forms about each work sent

home. I will be summarizing my research project and writing about the results. However, none of the

writing that I do will include the name of this school, the names of any students, or any references

that would make it possible to identify outcomes connected to a particular student or family.

Other people will not know if you and your child are in my study. When I am done, I will share my final research report in the St. Kate’s library. By sharing what I

learned, I hope to help other Montessori teachers who are also trying to improve their teaching

and student learning. Next Steps If you decide you DO want to be included in the study you don’t need to do anything at this time.

Your answers to my questions and my observations will be aggregated and made confidential in

my final report. If you decide you do NOT want your family’s data from this project to be included in my final

report, please note that on this form and return it by August 29, 2014. The data I gather will include parent feedback on the works and assignments sent home. Data will

also include observations of children’s independence in the classroom and work habits throughout

the morning. There is no penalty for not being involved or not having your child’s data included in my study. I


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will simply not collect data from your child or family. All children will receive the same

treatment in my class, regardless of your decision on this matter. Home visits are optional for any

family. Questions If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, [email protected]. You may ask

questions now, or if you have any additional questions later, you can ask my advisor, Jana

Morgan Herman whose email is [email protected]. If you have other questions or

concerns regarding the study, and would like to talk to someone other than the researcher(s), you

may also contact Dr. John Schmitt, Chair of the St. Catherine University Institutional Review

Board, at (651) 690-7739. You may keep a copy of this form for your records. Please respond by August 29, 2014 if you do

NOT want to be involved.

______________________________ Name of Child

______ I do NOT want my family’s responses or data about my child to be included in

this study. ______ I have questions I would like to discuss before I make this decision. You can

reach me at

___________________________________ or ______________________.

______________________________ ________________ Signature of Parent Date Upon receipt of this notification I will sign here and send this back to you so that you know I

received your request.

______________________________ ________________ Signature of Researcher Date **If at any time you decide you do not want your family’s data to be included in the study, you

may notify me and I will remove included data to the best of my ability.


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Appendix B


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Appendix C

Family Questionnaire

Child's Name: Nickname: Parent/Caregiver Names:

PERSONALITY First thing you think of when you think of your child

Describe your child’s temperament/personality.

What does your child like to talk about the most or listen to you talk about the most?

Your child’s top three favorite things?

RELATIONSHIP WITH CAREGIVERS Identify and list:

Favorite activities with parent/caregiver 1

Favorite activities with parent/caregiver 2

What do you love most about your child?

What are some challenges?

HOME LIFE Who does your child live with?

Does your child have siblings?

What language(s) are spoken at home?


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Describe your child's usual daily routine? (Please include wake time, eating, naptime, bedtime)

How much time do you spend reading with your child at home? DICIPLINE What type of boundaries do you use at home? Identify and explain technique:

Caregiver 1-

Caregiver 2-

Is it consistent amongst all caregivers?

What is your child's reaction to boundaries?

HEALTH and PHYSICAL GROWTH Allergies, sensitivities to food, or dietary restrictions?

Does your child take regular or frequent medications?

Describe any health or developmental issues, including ear infections, vision, hearing, speech, and physical

growth?

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Describe your child's language skills?

Describe any fears your child may have.

How would you describe your child's emotional and social characteristics or qualities?

Has your child experienced any traumatic/ dramatic experiences that would be helpful for us to know?


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INDEPENDENCE How independent is your child with diapering/toileting?

How does your child ask for help?

How successful is your child at self-care skills? (washing, brushing teeth, dressing, picking up toys)

SEPARATION Has your child ever been separated from you? (Babysitters, vacations, play dates, daycare)

How does your child react to separating from parents and caregivers?

Does anyone else care for your child on a regular basis? Please specify-

Does your child have a security object?

SOCIALIZATION Does your child have scheduled activities outside of school? Please list-

What opportunities does your child have to play with other children?

SCHOOL What are your expectations for this year?

What are you excited about for the start of your child’s school year?

What makes you nervous about the start of your child’s school year?

Questions for me?


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Appendix D

Montessori Questionnaire

Pre -Survey * Required

Why did you choose Montessori education for your child? *

What type of learning outcomes are you expecting from your child's experience at Barrie School?

*

How does Montessori foster independence? *

Do you believe Montessori classrooms are unstructured? If so, what makes you think this? *

How does concentration, coordination, order and independence relate to the Montessori


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curriculum? *

Have you read any books related to Montessori philosophy? If so, which ones? If you have not,

would you be interested in receiving a list of recommended reads? *


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Appendix E


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Appendix F


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Appendix G

Documents

Montessori in the Home and Connections to Parent Education